I actually blocked out some time last night to take an offer up from a friend regarding running the Tournament of Champions. I was looking forward to it.

Of course, it ended up being patch day, and the servers were shot, yielding an infinite response after every time I tried to log in:

Waited a half hour, tried again, then another half hour, then another. Gave up.

What really struck me about this was that there was no official note from Blizzard about why it happened. No window on the login screen acknowledging the problem, no details on what the problem was or the progress on it. Nothing on the official website, either. I found an article on WoW Insider with details.

Evidently it got fixed after I went to bed for the evening. When I tried to log on this morning, my free week was over. The error message after your time is up helpfully reminds you to go purchase more time to play. Time, like yesterday?

Same issues. WoW is a great feast, with tons of leftovers. It's just a poor snack.

My wife and I will probably check out Cataclysm. Given this handy reminder of uptime and login problems, we'll pass on the launch celebration, though.

My wife and I were lucky enough to have our first daughter last year. We will be luckier still to have our second daughter later this year! The prospect of a second child has brought a lot of things into focus, including exactly how much time we're going to have to play World of Warcraft… which is virtually none, given how this first year of having one child has been. Continue reading Times Change

Update! This article is well-intended but the truth has been revealed, and I guessed wrong. More information in the article "Wrath Emblem Design Revealed".

However, it kills me to delete text, so I'll leave it here anyway. Also as a reminder to myself that design is opaque.

Only raid or instance once a week? Wondering what to do with those 25 or 30 emblems you've finally accumulated? Like real-life money, don't let those shiny tokens burn a hole in your pocket.

"But, but, but how can I wait? Zomgepics!"

I know, I know. The siren call of zomgepics beckon us all.

The emblem gear will (in all likelihood) be refreshed when a higher tier of content comes out, just like the Badge of Justice system did in the Burning Crusade. This means that your Emblems will (in all likelihood) appreciate in value.